You are what you eat, and so is your baby. Your growing baby depends on you for everything needed for healthy growth and development.
Eating well is vital
Don’t try to lose weight while you’re pregnant, it could harm you and your unborn baby. Some diets can leave you low in energy and important vitamins and minerals. Remember, normal weight gain is one of the most positive signs of a healthy pregnancy. Women who eat a balanced diet are more likely to have healthy babies. So as long as you’re eating healthily, relax: you’re supposed to be getting bigger!
Try to eat the following every day:
- five servings of fruit and vegetables
- three or four servings of wholemeal bread, cereals or potatoes
- two servings of meat, poultry, fish, eggs or pulses (lentils, chickpeas etc)
- one glass of milk, some yoghurt, or hard cheese.
Peanut warning
Eating peanuts during pregnancy may be linked to a peanut allergy in some children, especially if there is a family history of allergy such as asthma, eczema or food allergy. You may want to avoid them to be on the safe side. Refined peanut oils are very unlikely to cause a problem.
Fasting
In some religions, fasting at certain times is important. However, most religions do not expect pregnant or breastfeeding women to fast. Talk to your spiritual adviser if you’re worried about anything you should or shouldn’t be eating. You’ll probably find that the usual rules don’t apply in your special case, and that will put your mind at rest. If your religion means that you are vegetarian, ensure that your diet is healthy. Talk to your LMC about taking extra vitamin and mineral supplements.
Essential fatty acids
Not all fats are ‘bad’ for you. There are some fats that the body needs and we must get them from what we eat. Essential fatty acids are found in oils, oily fish, nuts and seeds. They help your growing baby’s brain, eyes and vision. You can take a pregnancy supplement. Check with your LMC or pharmacist before taking any supplement to make sure that it is safe for you to take in pregnancy.
Food safety
It’s wise to avoid certain foods during pregnancy. Some could harm your baby, while others may make you feel unwell, which can be hard to cope with when you are pregnant.
| AVOID: | IT’S SAFE TO EAT: |
| Unpasteurised milk, either from cows or goats. It ccould contain a bug called listeria, which can harm your baby. | Pasteurided (heat treated) milk, the sort you get from your milkman or supermarket. |
| Soft, mould ripened, blue veined or unpasturised cheese such as Brie, Camembert, Stilton or Danish Blue. These may also contain listeria bacteria. | Hard cheese like Cheddar, Colby, Edam and Parmesan; soft, processed cheeses like Dairylea, and Philadelphia, cottage cheese, cream cheese and mozzarella. |
| Liver and products like liversausage and pate. They may contain high levels of vitamin A which has been linked with birth defects | Vegetable pates, pasturised vacuum-packed pates, meat pastes in jars;make sure they DON’T contain liver. |
| Soft-boiled or raw eggs and foods which contain raw eggs such as home-made mayonnaise, mousse or uncooked cheesecake and soft whipped ice cream from kiosks. These foods may contain salmonella bacteria which can cause food poisoning. | Hard-boiled eggs, shop bought mayonnaise in jars as it’s made with pasturised (heat treated) eggs, which destroys the salmonella bacteria. Baked cheesecake, meringue and pre-wrapped ice cream. |
| Raw or undercooked meat, fish or chicken.Be extra careful about barbecued food. Undercooked meats can contain the salmonella bacteria which can cause food poisoning. | Well-cooked meat, poultry and fish. Check that juices run clear and no pink bits are left. Oysters, prawns, mussels and crabs if well cooked; otherwise they can cause food poisoning. |
| Foods that may not be properly heated through or cooked such as pre-cooked, chilled foods like chicken drumsticks and meat pies. If not completely reheated, these foods may contain listeria bacteria which can affect an unborn baby. | Ready-made meals that you have re-heated until they are piping hot all the way through |
| Unwashed salads and vegetables. They may contain the listeria bacteria or the toxoplasmosis parasite, both of which can affect an unborn baby. |
Well-washed salad and vegetables. |
Blackcurrants
A Source of Strength for Expectant Mums. The health benefits of blackcurrants have long been linked to their high levels of vitamin C. However, research over the last 20 years shows there could be more to the story with significant health benefits resulting from their rich anthocyanin-content;
- Increasing neurological functions involved in memory and motor skills.
- Slowing down the aging process.
- Protecting and improving vision.
- Helping prevent various types of degenerative ailments such as heart disease and cancer.
There are an increasing number of products available on the New Zealand market that use blackcurrant as an ingredient – obviously health benefits are dependent on the blackcurrant content in products so consumers need to check the labels before deciding on purchases.
A glass a day of high-concentrate blackcurrant juice makes it simple to give your body the goodness of blackcurrants.
A range of high-concentrate jams produced with full fruit make it a tasty and nutritious topping for breakfast toast.
